JRF Story teller fund application notes
Thanks to Mr D. for helping make the video pitch for the Joseph Rountree Foundation.
We have tried to win some funding in support of this project, and resources to support members and projects in the Sector39 permaculture training network.
We want to teach permaculture to the world, and base that in our own story, linking it to real experiences, in real places with real people. With funding we can dedicate time and resources to this project, support and invest in some of our trainees and also carry out follow up and evaluation visits to past courses and locations to have a better idea of the longer term impacts of permaculture training, and to
see where on-gong support might be needed.
This is our 800 word submission that went with the video as well. Going through this for the application has helped the shape the idea, and deepen some of our convictions.
Permaculture is the property of everyone who embraces it, there are many thousands of teachers and millions of practitioners around the world, it will spread, succeed or fail on its own merits, but I for one have felt inspired, that is what drives me forward.
If I think of my reasons and motivations for sharing this story is that I gained so much inspiration and motivation along the way, and even in these darks times permaculture gives me something positive to cling on to, a life raft is this sea of crazyness. Every day the world fails to come together and act in a different way brings us a day closer to a collective failure that we will always regret, but I also secretly think that as the world teeters towards some horrible implosion or collapse that the seeds of what will replace the world we grew up in are already sprouting.
Herd of cows at Treflach farm, watching us with their deep stares. They form part of a regenerative grazing scheme that has been evolving at the farm, part of an ongoing soil building and carbon capture experiment. I come here every week with a small team of volunteers, where we are building a permacutlure garden and soil experiments. It is a grounding experience and keeps our feet firmly planted in the earth, and being reminded every week how food production is an on-going and perpetual challenge, even without the unpredictable weather.
We were inspired by the work in Normandy of Ferme du bec Helouin which we witnessed at the Wales Real Food and Farming conference in 2021, we fed our inspiration and ideas into a full Permaculture Design Course we held that year and the design for the garden were a product of that process. We only spend about half a day per week at the garden, as it is a side project but our reslove is growing as is the interest in taking the project much further.
I think the garden can form a focal point for visits, study and future courses, please come and visit on consider taking part.
We meet there every Thursday at Treflach farm,
2023 sessions now completed
Regular sessions 2024 from Feb 8th - October 31st